Cannabis to be Tested in Kids with Severe Epilepsy

There has been no rigorous study that’s looked at compounds found in pot to reduce seizures.

Researchers at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children are poised to begin a clinical trial using cannabis extracts to treat children with severe epilepsy whose seizures can’t be controlled with existing medications.

The trial is believed to be the first in Canada to test an oral preparation that contains both CBD and THC, compounds in marijuana that have been shown in the lab and through anecdotal reports to have anticonvulsant properties in children with treatment-resistant epilepsy.

CBD, or cannabidiol, is one of hundreds of active chemicals in the marijuana plant, many of them touted to have medicinal properties. THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the psychoactive ingredient that produces the “high” associated with pot.